The hidden shift: how do night shift nurses learn to adapt to circadian disruption?

Disruption of circadian rhythm has a significant impact on the physical, psychosocial, and professional lives of night shift nurses. How night shift nurses learn the coping techniques they employ to adapt to this disruption was examined in a qualitative, cross-sectional survey of 42 nurses. A template analysis technique was used to categorize the responses, which were then compared to industry "best practices" in fatigue countermeasures. Results documented the variety of sleep/wake routines nurses employ to cope with circadian disruption as well as a wide-ranging variety of behaviors related to driving while fatigued.